because we build education around where you want to go. so, you know, you can get the job you want. ready, let's get to work. breaking news overnight. so, is the tea party over? establishment republican candidates beating back tea party challengers in key primary challenges overnight. this could mean big problems for democrats come november. we are breaking down all the big overnight race results and we have it live. >> a growing new threat from al qaeda this morning. the terror group gaining strength across the middle east. the latest, what does it mean for the world and america

straight ahead. a deadly attack in nigeria. this assault linked to the same terrorists responsible for kidnapping hundreds of schoolgirls. we are live in nigeria with the latest. welcome to "early today," i'm john berman. >> i'm poppy harlow, it is 4:00 a.m. here on the east coast. of course, we begin with big political news breaking overnight. voters said no to tea party challengers and democrats making their choices for who they want to run in november from congress to the state capitol. the biggest was in kentucky. the businessman was expected to mount a strong challenge. mcconnell ran hard in the end. he easily held bevin off.

he faces a tough fight against alison lunder gan grimes. mcconnell said he will make it a central part of his campaign. >> my opponent is in this race because barack obama and harry reid want her in this race. there's a reason, friends. a reason. every hollywood liberal is sending her a check. >> together, we will take this fight to mitch mcconnell and hold him accountable for his 30 years of failed leadership. >> in idaho, cnn projects republican congressman mike simpson won his primary, one of many establish candidates to turn aside tea party backed candidates there. the chair faced a tough battle against brian smith.

it was a test between conservative groups. as for the governor's race there, he's on track to beat russ who ran as a more conservative candidate. >> the election in oregon is merkley against monica wehby. she talked the more conservative candidate in the race. two establish candidates holding off the conservative backed secretary of state in that state. cnn projects david purdue and kingston were the top two in the race but didn't get enough votes. secretary of state is set to finish third despite her backing

from sarah palin. whoever wins the run off in july will face michelle nunn. democrats call her the best chance for retaking that seat he once held. >> the change is possible and we can do it. so, as i have been traveling across the state of georgia, i have been highlights what washington can learn from georgia. you know what? i think washington is going to learn a thing or two from our campaign. >> in the governor's race in georgia, jimmy carter's grandson will run. >> two congressmen run for arkansas. they both won their primaries as did mark pryor who will face congressman tom cotton in the fall for the right to represent

arkansas in the senate. >> in pennsylvania, this was closely watched. big names were involved. chelsea clinton's mother-in-law lost her bid to run for congress. she picked up only a quarter of the vote in her philadelphia democratic primary. that despite last minute campaigning by bill and hillary clinton. she was defeated by boyle. then, in the gubernatorial race, cnn projects tom wolf won the democratic primary after pumping millions of his own dollars in that race. he will face tom corbin in the fall. he is seen as vulnerable. >> so many election results to pour over. let's bring in paul steinhauser. the word we keep saying over and over and over again is establishment. a big, big night for the

establishment. >> remember that "star wars" movie, "the empire strikes back." this year the establishment strikes back. you saw it in kentucky and georgia. the republican side, you saw it in oregon in the senate contest there and in idaho. you mentioned mike simpson in the house race. all these cases are where the establishment won over the tea party groups. how did they do it? they ran smart campaigns and got a lot of outside help. they spend $4 million to back the establishment candidates. we saw it play out in primaries in texas, north carolina and we'll see it play out as we continue into the primary calendar. what does it mean? you know, remember in 2010 and 2012, tea party candidates won big contests in the primaries. come november, they lost to the democrats. the republicans argue they lost five senate seats because of that. this time, things seem to be

different. that can make the difference in november. here is the lay of the land. the democrats have a 55/45 majority in the u.s. senate. they are defending 21 of the 36 seats up for grabs in november. the establishment candidates winning the primaries, it gives the republicans better odds of recapturing the senate in november. guys? >> let's talk about kentucky. a number of races last night. everyone was focused on kentucky. you have mitch mcconnell winning more handedly than people expected. now it's about november when he'll face-off with al son lunder gan grimes. both of them addressing a key figure. >> they sure are. that's barack obama, the president. mitch mcconnell is going to frame it about the president and his agenda and obamacare and

going to try to tie grimes to the president. we heard it in the speech last night. take a listen. >> my opponent is in this race because barack obama and harry reid want her to be in this race. a vote for my opponent is a vote for obamacare and the president who sold it to us on a mountain of lies. >> mitch mcconnell would have you believe that president barack obama is on kentucky's 2014 election ballot. wol, let me set the record straight tonight for our senior senator who is out of touch with the commonwealth of kentucky. president obama is not on kentucky's 2014 election -- >> just a taes of things to come. starting this morning in kentucky, a pro-mcconnell superpac is outside with half a million dollars in ads attacking grimes. this could be the most expensive senate run. this could top it in november.

>> it's a great time to be a political consultant right now. could be helping the economy big time right there. >> appreciate it paul. thanks for coming in on little sleep. i know it was a late night for you. >> there's so much more about the election, but so much more at this hour. a warning about new terror threats against the united states. cnn learned u.s. intelligence officials are seeing an up tick in the so-called threat stream that could point to al qaeda planning operations inside the united states. barbara starr has the latest. >> reporter: poppy, john, a seen your u.s. official tells me over the last six months they have seen a series of al qaeda based threats suggesting the possibility of u.s. and western targets overseas and u.s. targets here at home. none of the threats have been validated. they don't think there are

operational al qaeda cells here in the united states, but they are very concerned about what it may mean about the growing strength of al qaeda. one place they are looking is back in pakistan where al qaeda began. they believe there are operatives there. potentially planning attacks against u.s. and western interests. they believe in syria. this is now a place where there are a growing number of americans, perhaps 70 to 100 who have gone there to fight and al qaeda operatives in syria have been aiming to try to get those people back into the united states or into europe. there is also the situation in yemen. the u.s. embassy has been closed there for several weeks. it looks like it's going to remain closed for several more days due to what officials are saying is an active threat stream. poppy? john? >> thanks to barbara starr for

that. meantime, happening today, congress is set to discuss the threat from boko haram. debora will talk about what it was like to survive the terror group. this, a day after suspected terrorists blasted a city in nigeria leaving at least 118 people dead. that was in the nigerian city of jos. tell us what we know about these explosions. i'm wondering if anyone claimed responsibility. some were thinking it was attributed to boko haram. at this point, do we know? >> reporter: morning, poppy. no. no one claimed responsibility for the latest attack. this is the state nigerians are

living under. almost weekly, poppy, we report on bombings that happen across the northeastern part of the country. now, here in the capital last month, two killed and dozened more injured. this is a sad reality. what's happening is as international spotlight is focused on nigeria, a lot of people are looking saying what is going on in this country. this is a country that is the largest in africa. they want to be on the u.n. security council. they want to be a major player on the continent and around the world. what is happening that there are weekly attacks that left this year alone, poppy, 1500 people killed in boko haram violence. >> the world economic form held a big meeting there. their economy has been a leader for africa and they are battling this. i know in terms of the hunt for

the girls, it's still going on. i was looking at the numbers, the nigerian government saying they have 20,000 troops. they have planes in the air looking for more than 200 missing schoolgirls. have they found anything yet? any signs or progress? >> reporter: absolutely none. they say, as you report, 20,000 nigerian soldiers engaged in the search. one battalion from the neighboring country will be put on the borders to try and beef up the search for these girls. the president, admitted they have no idea where these girls are. u.s. intelligence reports suggests the girls may have been split up and trafficked into the neighboring countries. a tough search. the parents we spoke to on the ground haven't seen military or police presence suggesting a

search is going on. >> heart breaking for them. i appreciate the update. thank you. >> 13 minutes after the hour. the obama administration is outlining the legal rational for killing u.s. citizens accused of terrorism overseas. they called for the memos released ever since. a senate vote is concerning an author nominated to a federal appeals court. that is the reason. a top white house aid assigned to look into the veteran's affair scandal is headed to phoenix. dozens of veterans may have died waiting for care. they concealed deadly, long wait periods. the house will vote on legislation to try to do something about this. >> we also are bringing up a bill this week having to do with the mess of the veterans

administration and to try and provide the tools to the administration to hold senior managers accountable. i mean the american people are frustrated, especially when those who served our country in uniform have been treated the way they have. god forbid, who have parrished because of the mess at the v.a. >> this mess is only growing. officials confirm to cnn 26 medical facilities are under investigation. a warning from general motors. don't put passengers in front of your 2015 cadillac escalade until it can be repaired. there's a problem with the air bag. the auto giant is recalling 2.4 million cars. they have recalled more than 13 million vehicles in the u.s. this year. >> it's a very big story. this is a company that has been fined and has a criminal investigation because they didn't tell people about a

deadly defect. now, they are getting far out in front. they told us yesterday, there are two more recalls ahead. expect that news as well. stocks opening in london slightly higher. stocks in germany slightly higher. profit plummets 46% after the breach. sales fell 2.5%. target fired the ceo. he walked out with a nearly $16 million severance feel. they have let go the head of their canada stores. canada was the first attempt to go international. it's been a massive challenge. they have lost almost $1 billion in canada. we talked to target's interim ceo. take a listen. >> we have seen our guests indicate they are ready to move

on. they want to get back to the relationship they had with target prior to the breach. >> we will find out if he's right. the numbers come out later this morning. >> what's canada's problem with target? >> i don't know. i'm from minnesota. stk canadian part of the united states. >> i don't know what's going on in canada. >> if you live in canada, explain to me what's wrong with target there. e-mail us or tweet us. >> happening now, on a much more serious note, chaos in thailand. the military taking over the country there following months of deadly protests. we are going to take you live to bangkok with what's happening on day two of marshall law.

a tense stand off this morning in thailand where the military is in the streets maintaining marshall law. they say it isn't a coop and the

government is in charge. they are threatening protesters and censoring the media. we are live outside of bangkok. what is the situation on the ground right now? >> reporter: well, poppy, there is a strong military presence. i have to specify, it is very small at this point. the people you can see behind me, the soldiers, a couple trucks. it's a small contingency. it's the largest military presence we have seen. even though this is day two of marshall law, we are not seeing tanks driving down the streets as we have seen in previous years. it's what the army chief is saying, it's not a coop, it's business as usual. what we are seeing today is the leaders of the different political group that is are

diversely politically opposed, they are meeting in the same room t. two leaders of the two main protest groups are sitting down together. we have to say it is progress. it is difficult to see how they would be able to agree on a political solution here. what the military is doing, at this point in the country, is really taking the lead and the role of mediator. of course, it is a very daunting task. the fact these two sides are completely opposed to each other. the pro-government who believe their government should stay in power and the anti-government who want as new government in place but they don't want to go through elections. there's too many corruptions. at this point, it appears as though this martial law is here. >> appreciate the update. thank you, paula. >> 22 minutes after the hour.

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pretty ominous photos to show you from denver. some of the hail, baseball

sized. no serious damage was reported there. >> yeah, what's in store for today? chad myers had a look at that. >> good morning, john and poppy. a decent day across the country. damper today in the northeast than yesterday. severe storms like the couple we had yesterday evening and overnight in the ohio valley and the chance of something popping up around denver and wyoming. the big storm spinning by itself, that type of weather in the high plains. not a lot of humidity or rainfall. impressive clouds and maybe a tornado or two. 75 denver today, 88 in dallas. 87 in houston. the rain moves really into your area for tomorrow. heavy rainfall for boston, philadelphia, d.c. and new york city by the afternoon and the severe showers and thunderstorms back out toward the southwestern part of the country. highs tomorrow, not a lot of

change compared to today. damper for you in the northeast. not quite as warm. not as many hours in the lack of rainfall. 68 in new york city. 81 in d.c. 88 in atlanta and a hot one across the southeast. back to you guys. >> hot one here this morning. thanks to chad myers for that. we have breaking news overnight. the republicans beating back tea party challengers in primaries across the country. this is the november general election that could mean trouble for democrats. we will break down all the late breaking development news right after the break.

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breaking news overnight. a big victory for the gop taking down tea party challengers across the country and putting themselves in a position to take the senate from the democrats this november. we'll break down the primary races live, straight ahead. >> al qaeda's resurgence. information that the terror group could be growing and rebuilding. the u.s. in its cross hairs. we'll give you the latest straight ahead. terror in nigeria. a market bomb blast and the attack is possibly linked to the terrorists responsible for kidnap l hundreds of schoolgirls. we'll take you live to nigeria with the latest. welcome to "early start." i'm poppy harlow. >> i'm john berman. 32 minutes past the hour.

hear that sound? that means results around the country. republicans breathing a sigh of relief and others wonder what went wrong. voters said no to tea party challengers almost across the board, choosing to go with the tried, tested establishment. the implications really huge for republicans and for democrats in the fall. >> the biggest surprise was just how early senator mitch mcconnell beat back a challenge by a tea party favorite, matt bevin. he fell to the five-term senator from kentucky in that state's republican primary. now, the real fight begins. mcconnell will face the democratic secretary of state alison lungergan grimes. the two are already fighting. >> my opponent is in this race

because barack obama and harry reid want her to be in this race. there's a reason, my friends, a reason every hollywood liberal is sending her a check. >> together, we will take this fight to mitch mcconnell and hold him accountable for his 30 years of failed leadership. >> solid and big defeats for the tea party in idaho. the centerpiece of this year's fight for control of the republican party. cnn projects mike simpson won his primary, easily against brian smith. he's the chairman seen as an insider. governor bush otter. he's leading against russ who ran as the more conservative candidate. >> in georgia, it will take a run off to see which republican

will run for chambliss' seat. karen received backing from sarah palin. the eventual victor will face michelle nunn in the fall, a nonprofit executor. she's the daughter of sam nun. n oregon merkley willw face wehby. the governor's race in arkansas will pick two former congressmen against each other, ross against hutchens. they won their primaries. pryor will face tom cotton in the fall as he tries to retain

his seat there. >> a defeat for the clinton family. chelsea clinton's mother-in-law will not head back to pennsylvania. she lost her democratic primary in philadelphia despite last minute campaigning and robo calls for her by the clinton's. they chos wolf to go against corbett. he's a wealthy businessman. governor corbett is seen as one of the most vulnerable republicans in the fall. paul steinhauser joining us live this morning. not a lot of sleep. help us make sense of the results. we saw the more moderate conservatives take it here. >> it was a clean sweep, i guess you could say. the moderate incumbent republicans over the tea party and grass roots conservatives.

you saw it in kentucky and the senate contest in oregon and georgia and the big showdown in idaho. the tea party not winning this time. it was a different story in 2010 and 2012, the last two election cycles when a lot of tea party candles won high profile showdowns with the establishment. it had consequences. in those cases, all the candidates lost and the republicans arguably lost five senate seats because of that. not this time, so far. the republican establishment having the upper hand thanks to big support from outside groups. here is why it mattered. take a look at the lay of the land. the democrats have a 55/45 majority. they are defending 21 of the 36 seats up for grabs in november. a lot of contests in red or purple states with more establishment or moderate republicans running in november on the ballot. this helps the republicans. it ups their odds to retake the chamber.

guys? >> let's go bluegrass. kentucky may be the marquee match up with mitch mcconnell going against alison lungergan grimes. >> you are right. we got an appetizer, a taste of things to come. take a listen to both candidates in their stump speeches. >> kentucky is not going to be deceived. alison lungergan grimes -- >> mitch mcconnell wants to tell you who i am. i'm here to tell you tonight, i am not an empty dress, i am not a rubber stamp and i am not a cheerleader. i am a strong, kentucky woman who is an independent thinking. >> that argument tieing grimes to the president, that's going to be an argument a lot of republicans are going to make

through november as they try to tie the democrats. the president and his policies like obamacare. stay tuned, this is just starting. >> paul, great to see you this morning. up all night covering the election results. cnn learned u.s. intelligence officials are pouring over new possible threats from al qaeda. the so-called threat stream is evolving and includes potential evidence of operational cells working towards an attack in this country. our pentagon correspondent, barbara starr has the latest on that. >> reporter: a senior u.s. official tells me over the last six months they have seen an increasing series of al qaeda based threats suggesting the possibilities of attacks against u.s. and western targets overseas and targets here at home. none of the threats have been validated. they don't think there are operational al qaeda cells here in the united states, but they are very concerned about what this may mean about the growing strength of al qaeda.

one place they are looking is right back in pakistan where al qaeda began. they believe there are operatives there potentially planning attacks against u.s. and western interests. they also believe in syria. this is now a place where there are a growing number of americans, perhaps 70 to 100 who have gone there to fight and al qaeda operatives in syria have been aiming to try to get those people back into the united states or into europe. there is also the situation in yemen. the u.s. embassy has been closed there for several weeks. it looks like it's going to remain closed for several more days due to what officials are saying is an active threat stream. poppy? john? >> thanks to barbara starr for that report. today, congress hears from boko haram, the group responsible for abducting hundreds of

schoolgirls in nigeria. deborah peters talks about those who took her. leaving at least 118 people dead. boko haram may have been responsible for that attack. vladimir is live. let's talk about the missing girls. what do we know about the government effort to find them? >> reporter: morning john. hey, so we know that president goodluck jonathan has 20,000 troops in nigeria dedicated to looking, searching for the girls. we learned from the summit that was held with the leaders along with nigeria that each of those countries were put into place, an action plan. they will contribute one battalion on the borders.

u.s. intelligence suggesting they may have been broken up into smaller groups and trafficked into the neighboring countries. it is a large area. most covered in forest. if you try to sends in a rescue mission when there are hostages on the ground, it could lead to tragic results. >> tell us about the explosion. has anyone claimed responsibility, yet? >> reporter: no one's claimed responsibility. this appears to be the hallmark of the terrorist group, boko haram, the group that kidnapped the 200 girls. in the past, they have seen some kind of ethnic violence, religious violence tied to boko haram. two explosions, over 100 people killed. the markets are usually packed with traders, hawkers, shoppers, people describing the scene as

gruesome and gory, body parts everywhere, bodies carted in wheel barrels to the hospital. we could barely hear the nurses talking because the screams were so loud. a very gruesome scene. we are hearing from the nigerian president. it is not common. they usually wait several days or weeks before commenting. >> the attack was horrific no matter who carried it out. vladimir, thanks very much. we could learn the obama administration's legal justification for targeting u.s. citizens. under pressure, the white house will release a memo explaining the rational. last year, they acknowledged they killed four americans in drone strikes since 2009. this is important regarding the timing of the memo release. the senate is expected to vote on the nomination today. today, a phoenix v.a.

medical facility is getting a visit. rob neighbors is charged with helping inform the department. the facility accused of falsifying records to conceal deadly, long waiting list. the house is taking up new legislation that republicans say will help. >> we also will be bringing up a bill this week having to do with the mess of the veterans administration. and to try to provide the tools to the administration to hold senior managers accountable. the american people are frustrated, especially when those who served our country have been treated the way they have. god forbid have perished because of the mess at the v.a. time for an "early start" check on your money. markets slightly lower across europe this morning. one stock to watch, netflix.

investors in london and germany will be able to use the service. they announced they would launch the service there and austria, belgium. they launched in 2012. you can see the countries where it first launched in red. europe has 50,000 more broadband houses than the united states. it's catching on in europe. netflix stock surged earlier this year and started sliding in march. we'll see if the news boosts their stock. >> norway is the new black. >> the new black. new details in how sterling may have tried to cover up the racist remarks that got him banned for life from the nba. plus, ex-nfl players accuseding thenfl for putting their lives in danger.

why e-cigarettes could be good for your hem. it's a contentious debate. we'll explain, ahead.

the nba claiming donald sterling tried to cover up the racist comments that got him baned from the league for life. according to a report from the l.a. times, sterling asked his girlfriend v. stiviano to lie saying she altered the recording and it wasn't him making the racist remarks on the tape. team owners will vote on whether or not they will terminate him. adam silver talked about that and more on this issue. >> my confidence level is high. we know we are doing the right thing. i know i have the owners behind me. the timing is laid out in the nba constitution. we are following it to the letter in terms of number of days mr. sterling has to respond and when the hearing will be held. as i said, i know we are doing

the right thing here. >> the nba accuses sterling of destroying evidence in that case. wedding bells will ring for many same-sex couples in pennsylvania now that a federal judge threw out the ban on same-sex wedding. the law belongs in history calling americans better people than the laws represent. the governor is considering an appeal. the attorney general says she will not challenge the ruling. >> jesting story. you have been reading and talking a lot about this one. the nfl is accused of putting profits ahead of player's health. this is in a new lawsuit. it was filed by a group of retired players. the league supplied them with powerful painkillers and drugs that kept them in the game and led to serious medical complications later in life. some never told they had broken bones and were given pills to mask the pain.

others developed heart, lung and kidney problems as a result of this. no comment on the nfl. so far, they have said they haven't received the lawsuit yet. >> it will be an interesting issue. a new study says e-cigarettes really might work when it comes to helping smokers quit. the battery powered vaporizers can be more effective than other methods. 20% of users quit smoking as opposed to 10% that use nicotine gum. >> they talk about how they smoke them all day long at their desk. >> i don't know what that can do. >> there eels not a lot of studies on the independent effec effects. ahoy to fleet week. the annual celebration of the navy is back after a one year hiatus because of budget cuts. three navy ships and two coast

guard cutters will arrive in new york harbor. a beautiful morning to welcome them. they will carry 1500 service members. >> hope they have a great week. trouble for general motors. another recall. millions more cars recalled over really troubling problems. that story straight ahead in money time. hey, razor. check this out. listen up, thunder dragons, it's time to get a hotel. we can save big on killer hotels with priceline express deals. somewhere with a fitness center? hey you know what man, these guys aint no dragons. they're cool. these deals are legit. yeah, we're cool. she's cool. we're cool. i'm cool. hey, isn't that razor's old lady? not anymore. priceline savings without the bidding.

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welcome back to "early start." it is money time. stock futures up flightily after a tough day on wall street with the dow falling. retail stocks at the center of the decline. thae they reported worse than expected numbers. general motors is putting 2.4 million more cars on the growing recall list.

1.3 million suvs recalled for a seatbelt defect. 1.1 million are older models being recalled as part of a transmission cable issue that caused at least 18 crashes. no deaths tied to any of these recalls. all told, general motors recalled 13.6 million vehicles in the united states alone. the most serious being that ignition switch defect which gm says is tied to at least 13 deaths. they are a company trying to get out in front because they didn't tell anyone about the defect for a decade. >> at least change the way they handle these situations. a few minutes before the hour, breaking news overnight. could be big trouble ahead for democrats this november. why? we'll tell you what the overnight election results when "early start" continues after the break.

breaking news overnight. is the tea party over? established